The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned until September 1 hearings in the protracted legal battle between Mukesh Ambani?s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and brother Anil Ambani?s Reliance Natural Resources Ltd over the supply of gas from the KG-D6 block.
The apex court also asked both companies to reply to the petroleum ministry?s plea to declare their June 2005 family agreement on the gas supply ?null and void?. Furthermore, it posted for the same day the applications of power companies like GMR, GVK and Gautami Power seeking to be made interveners in the dispute.
The petroleum ministry has accused the Ambanis of ?surreptiously? appropriating national resources and treating them as personal and family property. The ministry said that under the production-sharing contract, the gas was government property and that RIL as contractor does not have rights to freely utilise or fix its price.
However, the court has neither stayed the June 15 Bombay High Court order asking RIL to supply 28 mmscmd of gas at $2.34 per mmBtu to RNRL, nor stayed any gas sale purchase agreements signed by RIL with fertiliser and power companies.
For its part, RNRL has argued that the Centre as intervener cannot appeal. The court, on September 1, will consider whether third parties can be interveners. RNRL, in its petition, wanted immediate supply of gas at the price specified by the high court, which is 44% less than the official rate. RIL had said it could not do so without the government?s consent.
Meanwhile, the government has denied letting RIL off the hook for signing a private MoU with RNRL to divide the entire gas volumes from the KG basin fields. ?We only got to know from the Bombay High Court judgement that all volumes beyond 28 mmscmd committed to RNRL and 12 mmscmd to NTPC were divided between RIL and RNRL in a 60:40 ratio,? petroleum secretary RS Pandey said.
?The MoU also states that they are free to price the volumes beyond those locked in litigations. So, practically, RIL may transfer KG-D6 gas for use in its refineries and petrochemical plants at $1 per mmBtu,? he said. Industries will be dependent on the mercy of RIL and RNRL for gas, he added.